<![CDATA[How to Tell Whether You Are Being Oppressed]]>Imagine that you’re faced with a problem, and some other agent X is involved in, or at least adjacent to, that problem. You suspect that X is oppressing you. How can you be sure?

Consider the following criterion:

If reality were altered such that X did not exist, and never had existed, would I still have the same problem?

If your answer is “Yes, I would still have this problem,” then consider the possibility that X is not actually oppressing you, but simply failing to serve your goals.  Then ask yourself this:

Am I upset that X is not serving my goals?

If your answer is “Yes, I am upset that X is not serving my goals”, then consider the possibility that you are the oppressor.

 

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